Wear a poppy, then ask what's next

Sven Spengemann was born in Berlin, Germany and immigrated to Canada with his family at age 15. After a two-year stint in the Privy Council Office (Regulatory Affairs) in Ottawa (2003-2005), Sven was recruited by the United Nations in 2005 to serve with the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). He held the position of legal advisor to the mission and then led UNAMI’s constitutional support team in Baghdad, from early 2007 until June 2012. During his tenure, Sven’s team advised the Iraqi Council of Representatives and members of the executive branch as well as the Kurdistan Region Government on constitutional and legislative reform. Sven returned to Canada in July 2012. He is working on a book on his experiences in Iraq and teaches international politics as a visiting professor at the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs.

In early November, we begin to wear the poppy, a solemn symbol to honour those Canadian men and women who fell in the cause of freedom, in the First and Second World Wars and the conflicts that followed, including Afghanistan. On November 11th, on the eleventh hour, we remember them with a minute of silence. Some of us may attend a ceremony at the local cenotaph. If we do, we will listen to a bugle sounding the Last Post, and we may hear a recital of John McCrae’s poem, In Flanders Fields.

As Canadians, we cherish the values that our soldiers, living and dead, have defended and continue to uphold on our behalf, and we will never forget their sacrifice. Canada is a nation that embraces both peace and liberty. We will stand up together against war, but will not hesitate to defend the principles of freedom and justice, at home and around the world, when they are threatened.

On this day, some of us may ask what we can do, as individual Canadians, to support the cause of peace. Those who died in combat abhorred war in their final hours, its stench and ugliness, its destruction, its absolute and indiscriminate disregard for life. They suffered the overwhelming horror of watching friends and comrades die, endured the sudden awareness of death’s presence — forced to leave behind, in the blink of an eye, everything that was dear to them on earth.

Nothing would honour their sacrifice more than the realization that we can each, in some small way, take a step or two toward protecting the freedom for which they died.

Horrible as they are, wars do not develop spontaneously but always follow an escalation of tensions. Today, the transitions in the Middle East and North Africa are cases in point. The initial street protests of the Arab Spring broke out after decades of oppression and injustice. After a period of guarded optimism about the prospect of more open and moderate governments emerging in the region, five countries remain embroiled in ongoing violence and sectarian strife, if not outright civil war: Libya, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon (again), and, almost 10 years after the U.S. intervention, Iraq.

The Afghan conflict also continues. Hatred and bloodshed govern daily life, and another generation of children is growing up without ever having known stability, prosperity or peace.

As Canadians concerned about freedom, peace and justice, we can do two things: First, we can speak out against hatred and the incitement of violence. Weeks ago, a YouTube video, ‘The Innocence of Muslims’, went viral. Waves of protests followed, fuelling tensions already strained to the breaking point. In some circles, the debate was about whether the act of distributing such a video should be protected as a form of free speech.

For many of us, the important moral issue was more straightforward: This video, as an incitement of hatred, flew in the face of Canadian values and ought to be condemned. We are all connected to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other channels. We can organize and speak out against such acts of extremism, to prevent those who seek to incite violence from gaining influence, at home or around the world.

Secondly, we can put more pressure on our political leaders to act when violence breaks out. As we remember our heroes, innocent civilians — women, children and the elderly — are dying in Syria, in great numbers. The international community remains paralyzed and is watching the slaughter in despair. Rebel groups and government forces alike are reported to be committing atrocities. There is a dire need for more humanitarian aid.

At moments like this, I recall one of John F. Kennedy’s favourite quotes from Dante: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” Canada is a rich country, with an influential voice. We can do more. Canadians hail from every part of the region currently embroiled in conflict. What happens there matters to them and, by extension, it should matter to all of us. We should do more.

This November 11th, as we remember those who fell, let us also recall that we can each do a bit more to honour them than to wear a poppy and stand for a minute of silence. And that Canada will be stronger if we do.

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